2.4 m boards + kit

Take your board/gear to a Suzuki dealer and try it. I found Toyota dealers were quite happy to allow us to do that when we were looking for a small car recently. It was a worthwhile exercise. We found the Corolla sedan could fit longer boards/masts than the hatch, which was a surprise.

^ Yes that's next on the list. I was hoping for a quick elimination/confirmation.
Corolla hey? hmmm.

A while ago I had to come into work on a Sat morning. I had a Caprice for the weekend to impress the kids. On the way home I noticed it was windier than forecast and a fair few crew were out at Green Point. Raced home and grabbed the gear but as much as I tried, and I tried every combination of boot, doors and windows open but to no avail I could not get my wave board into the Caprice. This is a 5.2 meter car. Just as I was about to kick the cat my wife rocks up in her Astra. Honey, can I borrow your car??? Open the hatch and straight in the board goes, not a problem.
So its not the size that counts but how you use it!!!

So do you need to keep under the magic $20k figure?

The Honda Jazz folds everywhichway and creates some amazing interior space, not sure about the board length though.

That small box cars take quite a bit of gear, not sure if they are available in Australia.

I've fitted 2 boards and three sails + 2 masts in a Honda Civic 2 door hatch, no problem. I wouldn't think it's any bigger than a Swift. As long at the front passenger seat and rear seats fold flat so you can extend a board into the footwell, it should fit easily. I assume you will be the only person in the car.

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MikeyS said..
I've fitted 2 boards and three sails + 2 masts in a Honda Civic 2 door hatch, no problem. I wouldn't think it's any bigger than a Swift. As long at the front passenger seat and rear seats fold flat so you can extend a board into the footwell, it should fit easily. I assume you will be the only person in the car.

I think the the Civic may be one size up on the Swift??

General comparisons are:

Swift.....Yaris......Mazda 2.... Jazz.....Polo

??.........Corolla....Mazda 3....Civic....Golf

??? = yaris

I used to have one of these and used it heaps to go sailing, everything fits in and I could drive 450km on 20 litres of fuel.




But if you buy a little car your mates always insist on trying to pick it up..

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seanhogan said..
??? = yaris

Toyota - next size down from the Corolla.

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NotWal said..
2.4 m boards + kit

Got a Swift, I'll check tomorrow night when its home. One or two people in the car?

^ Just 1.

Dude. Hiace.

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MikeyS said..
I've fitted 2 boards and three sails + 2 masts in a Honda Civic 2 door hatch, no problem. I wouldn't think it's any bigger than a Swift. As long at the front passenger seat and rear seats fold flat so you can extend a board into the footwell, it should fit easily. I assume you will be the only person in the car.

I've done the same with a 2003 Swift and also a 1999 Ford Festiva. To get everything in I put a FSW board in first (in through the hatchback, backwards and upside down into the passenger footwell), then an iSonic in next (frontwards and right-side-up with nose touching the bottom of the passenger-side windscreen), then on top of this went three masts, 6 sails, 2 booms. Always found it hard getting the 3rd boom in without resorting to using the roof racks, so usually left it at home. All other bits and pieces fit in the space between the rear seat and the hatchback. The secret was getting the first board in and nicely tucked away by sliding the front passenger seat fully backwards and then fully reclining it. Keep the rear seat up - don't lay it down. Lastly, there is room for one adult passenger in the rear right-hand seat - it is important that after they are in and you are in the drivers seat to slide the front drivers seat back into a nice comfortable driving position (keeps panicky claustrophobic passengers from escaping ).

The Festiva is shown in the photos. The first photo was a session with all the gear in the car. The second and third photos show the setup when taking the family, with all the gear on the roof - 2 boards (SB Rio and then FSW on top) and a selection of masts, sails and booms in the long kit bag (also on the roof). To make sure the roof racks were secure I bolted them on through the roof. Room for 4 passengers!

I have fitted my gear into a Yaris. I have put my gear into a couple of different cars, If it is a hatchback everything will go in ok. If it has a boot with a wall the limiting factor can be the height of the boot wall supporting beam -sometimes it isn't high enough to get the right angle to slide your board in. One of my Hondas civic sedan was like that. You usually have to take the headrests off to make more room. Seeing the passenger side rear vision mirror can be a bit of a problem.

I can fit 5 kites, 4 kite boards and all the other gear, plus 4 people in my moms 1989 swift.

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flyingcab said..
I can fit 5 kites, 4 kite boards and all the other gear, plus 4 people in my moms 1989 swift.

And your pink G-String in the glove box..

what a waste of space

Exocet RS2 plus all the gear fits in daughters Holden Nova (rebadged Toyota Corolla) She borrowed my Hi Ace to go to Falls

My Honda Jazz fits 252x74 board. I was thinking Swift too before I bought Jazz but found it more expensive and boot is smaller than Jazz.

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alewi62 said..
I have fitted my gear into a Yaris. I have put my gear into a couple of different cars, If it is a hatchback everything will go in ok. If it has a boot with a wall the limiting factor can be the height of the boot wall supporting beam -sometimes it isn't high enough to get the right angle to slide your board in. One of my Hondas civic sedan was like that. You usually have to take the headrests off to make more room. Seeing the passenger side rear vision mirror can be a bit of a problem.

Yep. I don't put my boards inside the Corolla but with 2 booms , 4 masts , 7 sails etc inside I can't see much out the LH window.. Got to be really careful at intersections , parking etc.. See( people who know me) it's not my driving it's the gear !

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T 11 said..
Exocet RS2 plus all the gear fits in daughters Holden Nova (rebadged Toyota Corolla) She borrowed my Hi Ace to go to Falls

I haven't tried to get any boards inside the corolla as I often carry 4 so need the roof racks but what year is that one? My front seat lays back but doesn't fold flat ( 2004). I need to carry everything each sail as it's a 40min - hr drive to my sailing spot so I aint going back for a forgotten board!

Ok the result is in.

Test board was a Carbon Art 66 at 111L and 2450 L

Back seat with head rest removed laid flat, front seat with head rest removed, push all the way forward then lay flat. The two seats will almost fit together and create a flat surface. If I had to do this all the time I'd modify the seat to go another 100mm further forward.

The board then slid under the glove box area....just..... and I could shut the rear door. The front door was a bit of an issue as the arm rest was hard against the board when closed and very close to the gear shift lever. I could select 1st but second was tight. A narrower board would make this easier.

I tried a 460 mast but it would only fit resting on the dash. Nothing a strap wouldn't fix to hold it in place . No chance getting the 520 mast in. The rest of the gear no problems but you run out of room very quickly so its a 1 board, 1 boom, 1 sail type car. This is why I have a 4.5mt trailer

If it was my only choice of transport and I was going to do this all the time I'd buy a set of racks. For the very odd sail not an issue and I now know that I can pinch my wife's car for a sail

Nothing beats an Alfa male!